Florida Keys

Sunday, April 29, 2012

New Dashboard Cover - Day at Mall

Seffner, Florida (high 82, low 72)

It was a pretty day yesterday, warm but not too hot. What did we do? Kayak?, hike?, Busch Gardens? beach? No…we went to my least favorite place.

The mall! There doesn’t appear be anything wrong with the economy here in Tampa. The mall was jam packed with people of all ages. There were very few parking spaces and the stores were almost as crowded as Christmas. Unbelievable! Why are all these people in the mall when it was such a pretty day outside?

We don’t go to malls often, but Al needed a good pair of comfortable shoes, so off we went to the mall…..on a Saturday. What were we thinking?

His feet have been hurting him a lot over the past few years and we decided to break down and see if expensive/good quality shoes would help. He got a pair from The Walking Store. They have a good arch support in them and are supposed to be made well. We’ll see. They were $109….which is the most either of us have ever paid for shoes. I looked for some shoes, but never could find any that I liked well enough to justify the cost.

One reason besides the free camping and rally, that we came back to Lazy Days, was to have a dashboard cover made for the motorhome. We needed something to protect it from sun damage as well as kitty claws.

We had it made at Wade Rv, here on the Lazy Days property. It ended up costing $375, which is more than we wanted to spend, but we couldn’t find anyone else that made a nice cover. They do a lot of things from re-upholstering furniture, fixing tears in vinyl/leather, front window screens, mirror and wiper covers, roller shades. We are happy with the work they did on the dash cover, so we may use them again in the future.

Baxter liked it too.

They had a pattern for this particular motorhome, but he had to alter the pattern a little. That is why they won’t make one up and mail it to you. They want to custom fit it to your motorhome.

We decided to take off the ugly fans on the dash and not put them back. We rarely use them and they are unattractive….plus they got in the way for kitty naptime!

We had a Mockingbird nest next to our campsite and they have been entertaining the kitties. Here is the baby.

We extended our time at Lazy Days three extra days. We got a 25% discount so we won’t have to leave until Tuesday. Then I guess we’re off to Lutz (north of Tampa) for the month of May. : (

We had rugs for the stairs and entrance made by Wade and they are very good... we have sun damage to our dashboard and now need a cover to hide the damage...lol to late to save it now. Glad to hear you guys are doing well!Have fun & Travel safeDonna

The last couple years before we sold our business, Al had plantar fascitis from standing all the time and his feet were killing him. Back then we had several podiatrist trips and eventually very expensive orthotics made that he wore in his sneakers. They have recently worn out, and whereas his feet are better, not completely. He went to the Dr. Scholl's machine in WalMart, and was fitted for a pair of orthotics there. he says they feel just as good as the custom pair for $400.00! It may be worth a try for your Al.

good looking dash cover and its obvious the kitty approves. We have one in the truck. Being from the midwest, it wasn't until our first winter in the south that we began to understand why you needed one.

Have you ever looked at shoes on zappos? They have free shipping both ways and I get (and send back) many shoes from them with no problems. They also have great comments from people who have tried shoes you're looking at.

Love the dash cover... but one question! Who's the other kitty??? Baxter is the only kitty I've seen anything about since I started reading your blog! Equal time cat mother!!!!! lol

I've never paid under $90 for a good pair of running shoes. They make all the difference not only in your feet but in your back and hips and posture. I don't see how you could buy good shoes that fit like they should on line. Interesting comment from Karen about on the Dr. Scholls thing.

We often close our front drapes during the heat of the day and hadn't thought of a dashboard cover but given Winnona's age, maybe we'd better before we damage it.

You're lucky that's the first time you've spent that much on shoes! I got plantar fascitis a few years back myself and haven't worn shoes that cost less than that since! I replace my running shoes every 4 months, and my other shoes about once a year. Once I felt the difference a good shoe makes I switched the whole family over. My husband and son also use Superfeet inserts in their shoes. We get ours at Gander Mountain, but they are available at a lot of good shoes stores. You have to try Smartwool socks next! Worth every penny!